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Dogs Sickened By Rat Poison In Boston

BOSTON (CBS) – A warning for pet owners who walk their dogs in the city: some dogs are getting sick from eating rat poison.

“It can be quite dangerous. The ingestion of rat poisoning can do internal damage in a dog or cat,” says Rob Halpin with the MSPCA’s Angell Memorial Animal Hospital.

At least two North End pets had to be rushed to the hospital last week. “We were in the back of the park over there just talking and realizing that our dogs were interested in something under the bush,” said Amy Hand. Her dog Jake and his doggy pal Snacks were eating some blue-green grains of rat poison.

“They gave him something to induce vomiting,” says Hand. She’s waiting on blood test results to see if Jake suffered any serious damage.

Snacks’ owner Sarah Shalek says he’s doing much better. She’s posted warning notices around the park. “Probably to the eye of a dog, and the smell, it looked like a nice treat and we were told at the hospital that dogs and cats are attracted to the taste of this,” says Shalek.

There is state legislation holding people liable for exposing pets to poison. It carries a $25.00 fine, which animal advocates say is far too lenient.

The City’s Department of inspectional services, which is in charge of rat abatement, says it’s crews does not leave poison out in the open.

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Award-winning reporter Christina Hager works as a general assignment reporter for WBZ-TV News. Hager joined the station in June 1999, after working as a reporter for WTNH-TV, the ABC affiliate ...